New Specs

We took Ellie in today to get a new pair of glasses.  Her others always seem to be missing or bent (courtesy of her little sister) when it's time for school.  Now she'll be ready with a backup pair.  Plus, they're red, white, and blue so she'll be all set for her birthday and Pondfest!

Springtime Fun

Yesterday was a beautiful day!  We took the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the sunshine!

Lainey is walking almost all the time now.  Crawling is for babies!  She is still a little wobbly in the grass.  Here are a few pictures of her taking a stroll around the house.  (Maria, is there a way to rotate these pictures in blogger?)

Ellie took Lainey for her first ride in the Hummer.  Lainey loved it and her big sister was more that happy to take her for a spin!

Lainey's 1st Birthday

Yesterday was Lainey's 1st Birthday.  She celebrated here at home with Mommy, Daddy, & Ellie, both her Namaws and PopPops, and her local aunts and uncles--Shanna, Kristen, Brian and JoJo.  Even the Brenkerts joined in from Charleston for a while via webcam.  Isn't technology great!  This is a picture of Lainey just as we set her cake within reach!  

Ellie had been waiting (not very :) ) patiently all day for the party guests to arrive, so we opened presents as soon as everyone got here.  Lainey got tons of good stuff!!  After we opened presents we ate dinner then started the First Birthday Cake FUN! 

Here's the Birthday Girl in her first set of wheels from

Mommy and Daddy!

Ellie was more than happy to help her little sister open some presents!

Lainey watches with excitement as Ellie opens the first wrapped package.  It didn't take her long to want out of her new wheels once she realized what Ellie was doing without her! 

Chillin' on my new Disney Princess sofa!

Hey everyone, look at my new Reds hat!

The real fun begins...

Hmmm, I seem to have a little icing on my finger!

I've had both my hands in the cake now and no one in yelling at me?!

This chocolate icing tastes pretty yummy!!!

I gave mommy a high five and gave Daddy a little taste of my cake.  Being the birthday girl is pretty cool!

Thank you all for logging on to see

me on my birthday!

And, thanks to everyone

for all my great presents!!

Love,

Lainey 

Lainey in the Swing

Today Lainey had her first experience in the swing.

Obviously she loved it!!  Her smile tells the story!

Fishing at PopPop Skeet's Pond

It was such a beautiful day that when we went back to PopPop and Nama's house to pick up Lainey after the field trip Ellie decided she wanted to do a little fishing.  She must have caught over 20.  She was finding all the good spots and choosing all the lucky worms!  Here is a picture of what we thought would be the biggest one of the day.

Chillin' by the pond on a sunny afternoon!

Now this was truly the biggest catch of the day!  Maybe even the biggest striper in the pond according to PopPop!

Field Trip to Sharon Woods

Ellie went on her first ever field trip to Sharon Woods today.

We got there a little early so she could play on the playground for a while.  Once the rest of her classmates arrived they had a program with a naturalist.  She showed them a  snake and a turtle and talked to them about water animals native to the area ponds.  Ellie was so brave she even petted the snake!!  Then they went on a nature hike to a little pond full of toads.  After the hike they played on the playground again until they were so tired the kids were asking the parents if it was time to go! 

Here is a picture of Ellie petting the snake.  It was pretty big! 

Lainey's 1st Bike RIde--4/6/08

Lainey took her first bike ride on Sunday.  She loved it!  

She was entertained for over an hour just by Matt riding her up and down our street!